[Image above] University of Washington researchers have a new channel of communication that allows devices like brain implants, contact lenses, credit cards, and even smaller wearables to talk directly to devices like smartphones and watches. Credit: University of Washington Computer Science and Engineering; YouTube

Every day we’re hurtling closer toward a totally cord-free, seamless technological world. Our devices are getting smarter, smaller, thinner, and can do more for us than ever before.

Now University of Washington researchers have a new channel of communication that allows devices like brain implants, contact lenses, credit cards, and even smaller wearables to talk directly to devices like smartphones and watches, according to a recent UW Today article.

Called interscatter communication, the process works by converting Bluetooth signals into wi-fi transmissions. “Using only reflections, an interscatter device—like a smart contact lens—converts Bluetooth signals from a smartwatch, for example, into wi-fi transmissions that can be picked up by a smartphone,” the article explains.

“Instead of generating wi-fi signals on your own, our technology creates wi-fi by using Bluetooth transmissions from nearby mobile devices such as smartwatches,” co-author Vamsi Talla, a recent UW doctoral graduate in electrical engineering who is now a research associate in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, explains in the article.

And the team says this technology doesn’t require special equipment—it only needs mobile devices commonly found with users to generate wi-fi signals. Plus, the process is significantly more energy efficient, using 10,000 times less energy than current technology.

“Preserving battery life is very important in implanted medical devices, since replacing the battery in a pacemaker or brain stimulator requires surgery and puts patients at potential risk from those complications,” says co-author Joshua Smith, associate professor of electrical engineering and of computer science and engineering at UW. “Interscatter can enable wi-fi for these implanted devices while consuming only tens of microwatts of power.”

This technology opens possibilities for novel device-to-device communication, like enabling a smart contact lens to use Bluetooth signals from a watch to send data to a smartphone app—or an implantable brain interface that can communicate via a Bluetooth headset and smartphone in real-time, or credit cards that can transmit data by backscattering Bluetooth transmissions from a phone, the article explains.

“Providing the ability for these everyday objects like credit cards—in addition to implanted devices—to communicate with mobile devices can unleash the power of ubiquitous connectivity,” says lead faculty Shyam Gollakota, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at UW.